Annexes to COM(2014)332 - EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020 - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2014)332 - EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2014)332  |
| date | June 6, 2014 |
· strengthen OSH cooperation, in particular with the ILO, but also the WHO and the OECD ® Commission;
· launch a review of the Memorandum of Understanding with the ILO to better reflect OSH policy ® Commission;
· contribute to implementing the sustainable development chapter of EU free‑trade and investment agreements regarding OSH and working conditions ® Commission;
· address, notably jointly with the ILO, OSH deficits in the global supply chain and contribute to G20 initiatives on safer workplaces in this regard ® Commission; and
· strengthen ongoing cooperation and dialogue on OSH with strategic partners à Commission.
5. EU instruments
5.1. Legislation
Legislation has proven its value in providing the EU with a common body of definitions, standards, methods and preventive tools in the area of OSH. An EU-wide OSH legislative framework is crucial to ensuring a high level of protection for workers and to creating a level playing‑field for all companies regardless of their size, location or sector of activity. Evidence shows that fulfilling legal obligations and enforcement measures taken by controlling bodies, including labour inspectorates, remain key drivers for OSH management in a majority of establishments[34].
However, given the variety of situations on the ground in terms of company size and diversity of the workforce, and the need to design targeted and effective policy measures, non‑legislative tools should also be used to make a difference on the ground. These include benchmarking, identifying and exchanging good practices, awareness‑raising, setting voluntary norms and user-friendly IT tools.
The Commission will continue to monitor Member States’ implementation of OSH legislation, in order to ensure appropriate compliance. The results of the ongoing evaluation of EU OSH legislation will help to shape future Commission initiatives.
5.2. EU funds
Currently, 13 EU Member States use the European Social Fund (ESF) to improve their national OSH policies. Member States are encouraged to use the ESF and other European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) to finance actions relating to OSH. For the 2014‑20 programming period, ESF funding will be available to support actions aiming inter alia to promote sustainable, quality employment and social inclusion through, in particular:
- The investment priority on "adaptation of workers, enterprises and entrepreneurs to change" by designing and implementing innovative and more productive ways of work organisation, including health and safety at work, training, education programmes, mainstreaming of good practices, etc.
- Prolonging healthier working lives through the development and implementation of measures to promote a healthy environment and mental well-being at work. This may be addressed through the investment priority on "active and healthy ageing".
- Supporting the recruitment and return to work of people with a chronic or rare disease, disability or mental health disorder through integrated pathways combining various forms of employability measures such as individualised support, counselling, guidance, access to general and vocational education and training, as well as access to services, notably health and social services.
- Developing and implementing measures to promote healthy lifestyles and tackle health determinants of occupational/environmental causes (e.g. exposure to toxic substances, environmental tobacco smoke) which are linked to diseases including cancer.
- Supporting awareness–raising/training activities targeting labour inspectors, in order to improve knowledge/skills and administrative capacity in dealing with issues relating to health and safety at work.
- Supporting training activities undertaken by small and medium enterprises as regards the implementation of OIRA and other IT Based tools across all Member States.
In addition, the operational programme Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) will be used to support actions to promote cooperation, communication and gathering of expertise in the area of OSH.
The new EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for 2014 to 2020 (Horizon 2020[35]) will provide financial opportunities to address the societal challenges of health, demographic change and wellbeing. Focus areas include:
understanding health; ageing and diseases; improving active and healthy ageing; effective health promotion; disease prevention; and preparedness and screening.
These reflect the need for a ‘translational’, integrated approach to challenges, providing support both for longer and mid-term research and shorter-term innovation activities.
ICT enabled innovation for Active and Healthy ageing has been proposed for regions to flag as one of the smart specialisation priority areas for funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Alignment and synergies with the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing and with the (second) Active Assisted Living Joint Programme provide more funding options and options for market development.
5.3. Social dialogue
In accordance with the Treaty provisions, EU social partners play an important role in designing and implementing OSH policies and in promoting a safe and healthy environment in Europe. EU social partners have shown the capacity to find responses which meet both workers’ and companies’ interests, and they have directly contributed to implementing EU strategies in this area. EU social partner agreements (e.g. the multi-sector agreement on crystalline silica and sectoral agreements on the use of sharp instruments in the healthcare sector and on working conditions in the maritime sector), implemented autonomously or through legislation[36], and other social partner initiatives have a direct impact on workers’ safety and health.
The Commission will continue to support the work of EU social partners and their national affiliates in relation to OSH policies under their autonomous work programmes. It invites social dialogue committees to consider how to effectively reach micro and small enterprises and to develop innovative OSH solutions. The EU social partners are also invited to contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the EU legislative acquis.
There is a need to improve synergies between the contributions of the EU social dialogue at cross-industry or sectoral level and the implementation of EU strategic priorities on OSH, while fully respecting the autonomy of the social partners.
It is essential to ensure ownership of the present EU Strategic Framework by social partners, including by involving them in the design and implementation of specific initiatives at EU, national, local and workplace level. The tripartite Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work and the European social dialogue structures should play a key role in this respect.
5.4. Communication and information
The success of any OSH policy depends largely on the effectiveness of the communication channels and tools used to reach the various players concerned, from policy makers to workers themselves.
Media such as the internet, online applications and social networks provide a range of possible tools to be further explored that may be more effective than conventional approaches in reaching younger workers. The Commission will encourage wider stakeholder involvement, including social partners, OSH experts, representatives of micro and small enterprises and professional associations, in implementing OSH legislation.
EU-OSHA plays a crucial role in collecting and disseminating relevant information on OSH, facilitating the exchange of good practice and developing awareness-raising campaigns and thus contributing to more efficient implementation of OSH policy at EU level. EU-OSHA’s development of an OSH good practices database will contribute to better implementation of OSH policies by companies. EU-OSHA will continue to carry out pan-European campaigns to raise awareness on OSH issues, while ensuring better interaction using social media.
5.5. Synergies with other policy areas
Public policy in other areas can contribute to an improved working environment. Potential synergies with OSH policy need to be more actively explored. The key areas in this respect are as follows:
Education: Raising awareness of OSH starts at school. There have been recommendations to better reflect OSH issues in school curricula (especially in vocational training) as well as to better promote mental health and wellbeing[37]. There have been successful pilot projects[38], but the results of these need to be better disseminated. Information and training for entrepreneurs need to continue; Research: OSH research priorities have been established, focusing on the impact of ageing, globalisation, new technologies and occupational, work-related diseases and disabilities. There is a need to better disseminate the results of this research and better reflect them in policy-making; Public health: Better coordination between policy‑makers in this area is needed, in order to build on existing programmes and guidelines and create synergies. Cooperation with key stakeholders (end users, public authorities, industry) is needed through the Joint Action on mental health and well-being and within the European innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing[39]. This will improve the conditions for uptake of innovation and investment in innovation; Environment: Efforts should be made to increase complementarity and coherence between environmental policy and workers’ protection, since the workplace can be considered a micro-environment where similar exposure to hazardous substances can occur, although at levels and with specific determinants; Industrial policy: Simple solutions, such as guidance on avoiding accidents or indicating exposure to vibration, can help SMEs to implement OSH in a more cost‑effective way, as they would not need to hire OHS experts to carry out assessments. Efforts should be made to step up coherence and create synergies between industrial policy and workers’ protection policy, in particular with regard to chemical substances. Equality: OSH policy can contribute to combating discrimination and promoting equal opportunities in EU policies, in particular by promoting the accurate implementation of Directive 2000/78/EC[40] relating to protection of health and safety at work of people with disabilities and Directive 2006/54/EC[41] prohibiting less favourable treatment of women in the workplace because of pregnancy or maternity.
6. Implementation of the OSH strategic framework
This communication sets out a framework for action, cooperation and exchange of good practice in the field of occupational health and safety in 2014-20 that can be implemented only with the active collaboration of national authorities and social partners. The Commission will therefore hold an open debate with key stakeholders in relevant fora about the views and proposals contained in this communication and will involve them in implementing actions where appropriate. Views received from the EU institutions, social partners, specialised committees such as the ACSH and the SLIC, and EU-OSHA will be of particular importance.
This strategic framework will be reviewed in 2016 in light of the results of the ex post evaluation of the EU OSH acquis and progress on its implementation.
The Commission will ensure monitoring of the implementation of the strategic framework, making use of existing fora and with the full involvement of the EU institutions and all relevant stakeholders.
[1] Articles 151 and 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
[2] COM(2010) 2020 and COM(2014) 130 final.
[3] COM(2012) 0173 final.
[4] International Social Security Association (ISSA), The return on prevention: Calculating the costs and benefits of investments in occupational safety and health in companies, http://www.issa.int.
[5] BenOSH, Socio-economic costs of accidents at work and work-related ill health, http://ec.europa.eu/social.
[6] SWD (2013) 202.
[7] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=333&langId=en&consultId=13&visib=0&furtherConsult=yes.
[8] European Parliament Resolution A7-0409/2011 of 15 December 2011 on the mid-term review of the European strategy; European Parliament Resolution 2013/2685(RSP) of 12 September 2013 on the European strategy on health and safety at work.
[9] Opinion adopted on 1 December 2011.
[10] Opinion adopted on 9 February 2012.
[11] Conference on Working Conditions held on 28 April 2014. http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=88&eventsId=979&furtherEvents=yes
[12] COM(2012) 746.
[13] European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW), Eurostat estimate. Data for NACE Rev. 2 sectors A C-N.
[14] Flash Eurobarometer on Working Conditions http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/flash_arch_404_391_en.htm#398
[15] European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW), 2011.
[16] European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), 2010.
[17] BAuA and Labour Ministry report on Safety and Health at Work, 2011.
[18] Costs to Britain of workplace fatalities and self-reported injuries and ill-health, 2010/11, HSE, 2013.
[19] The size of the establishment, the industry and the country are the strongest determinants of the scale of OSH management in establishments, according to the 2012 Enterprise Survey on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER) report.
[20] http://www.oiraproject.eu/ OiRA is a web platform that enables the creation of sectoral risk assessment tools in any language in an easy and standardised way. It allows the building of easy-to-use, free online tools that can help micro and small organisations put a step-by-step risk assessment process in place — starting with the identification and evaluation of workplace risks, through to decision‑making and implementing preventative actions, finishing with monitoring and reporting.
[21] See, for example, a specific study on this issue: Binazzi et al., The burden of mortality with costs in productivity loss from occupational cancer in Italy, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2013 Nov; 56(11): p. 1272-9.
[22] http://www.ilo.org/safework/lang--en/index.htm http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/moscow/areas/safety/docs/safety_in_numbers_en.pdf.
[23] Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), OJ L 136, 29.5.2007.
[24] Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, OJ L 353, 31.12.2008.
[25] EU-OSHA Campaign 2012-13 on ‘Working together for Risk Prevention’.
EU-OSHA Campaign 2010-11 on ‘Safe Maintenance’.
EU-OSHA Campaign 2008-09 on ‘Risk Assessment’.
EU-OSHA Campaign 2007-08 on ‘The Healthy Workplace Initiative’.
[26] EU-OSHA, 2013. New risks and trends in the safety and health of women at work. https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/new-risks-and-trends-in-the-safety-and-health-of-women-at-work/view.
[27] White Paper. An agenda for adequate, safe and sustainable pensions, COM(2012) 55 final.
[28] National Labour Inspectorates’ 2011 reports, sent to the SLIC.
[29] National Labour Inspectorates’ 2009 reports, sent to the SLIC.
[30] COM(2013) 685 final.
[31] In accordance with Article 17a of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work, OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1.
[32] https://osha.europa.eu/en/priority_groups/ageingworkers/ep-osh-project.
[33] Commission Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 of 11 April 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament an of the Council on Community statistics on public health and safety at work, as regards statistics on accidents at work, OJ L 97, 12.4.2011, p. 3–8.
[34] European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER) — Managing safety and health at work, European Risk Observatory Report 2010.
[35] Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and Council establishing Horizon 2020 — the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-20), COM(2011) 809 final.
[36] In case of implementation by legislation, after an assessment performed by the Commission, covering representativeness, compliance with EU law, impact on SMEs and cost-benefit analysis, where appropriate.
[37] OECD (2012), Sick on the Job? Myths and Realities about Mental Health and Work, Mental Health and Work.
[38] Integrating or ‘mainstreaming’ OSH into education forms a key part of developing a prevention culture by teaching children and young adults to live and work safely. EU-OSHA provides a great deal of good practice information in this area. https://osha.europa.eu/en/topics/osheducation.
[39] http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?section=active-healthy-ageing&pg=about.
[40] Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, OJ L 303, 2.12.2000.
[41] Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (recast), OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p. 23.